Kanye West Meeting With President Trump: 10 Takeaways From His White House Visit

Earlier today (Oct. 11), Kanye West had a nationally televised White House meeting with President Trump and needless to say, there was a lot going on.

In a mostly one-sided discussion (Trump didn't say much) Yeezy touched on everything from prison reform to the "Make America Great Again" slogan as he served up a variety of questions and theories about how to improve the condition of America. Almost no hot-button issue was left untouched.

In one part of the discussion, 'Ye explains why former democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign slogan didn't resonate with him as a man. In another, he claims that he was misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder. If that weren't enough, he even offers up an explanation for his famous comments about former U.S. president George W. Bush not caring about Black people.

"I was very emotional, and I was programmed to think from a victimized mentality. Of a welfare mentality," Kanye explained.

While some comments stand out more than others—'Ye claimed that racism was an invisible wall during the conversation—there is a whole lot of more eye-brow raising takeaways than what surfaced in headlines across the web. Today, XXL takes a look at 10 of them.

1

Kanye West Says He Was Misdiagnosed With Bipolar Disorder

Over the summer, Kanye used 'Ye album to confirm that he was bipolar. During his visit to the White House, though, he claimed that a doctor actually told him he didn't have the disorder.

“[The doctor] said that I actually wasn't bipolar, I had sleep deprivation, which can cause dementia 10 to 20 years from now where I wouldn’t even remember my son’s name," Kanye said.

2

Hillary Clinton's Campaign Slogan Didn't Make 'Ye Feel Like Superman

Kanye says he's never voted, but if he had voted in the 2016 presidential elections, there's a good chance he would have voted Trump. Comparing Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan and Hillary Clinton's "I'm With Her" campaign slogans, 'Ye explains the reason Clinton's catchphrase didn't resonate with him.

'Ye begins by explaining that his life growing up without the regular presence of his father played a role in his connection to MAGA.

“I love Hillary. I love everyone, right? But the campaign ‘I’m with her’ just didn’t make me feel, as a guy that didn’t get to see my dad all the time, like a guy that could play catch with his son,” 'Ye explained. “There was something about putting this hat on that made me feel like Superman.”

3

'Ye Believes Racism Is an Invisible Wall

The question of how Kanye could support President Trump, who many believe to be racist, is one folks have been asking since he first agreed to meet with the president nearly two years ago. If they were looking for an answer, they might have found it in Yeezy's meeting with Trump, where the Chicago rapper claims that racism is nothing but an invisible wall.

Speaking on that idea, 'Ye claimed said the idea of racism was just a mechanism liberals use to control Black people.

"A liberal will try to control a Black person through the concept of racism because they know that we're a very proud, emotional people," Kanye says during one part of the Oval Office meeting. "So when I said I'm like Trump to someone that's liberal they'll say, 'Oh, he's racist.' You think racism can control me? Oh, that don't stop me, that's an invisible wall."

4

Yeezy Thinks a "Welfare Mentality" Programmed Him to Say George W. Bush Doesn't Care About Black People

Thirteen years ago, Kanye and actor Mike Myers were hosting a telethon to help raise funds for victims of Hurricane Katrina. During the televised event, 'Ye claimed that George W. Bush didn't care about Black people.

Five years after the fact, in 2010, 'Ye seemingly apologized for saying that about GW. During his meeting with Trump, he explained what, exactly, made him say what he said.

"I was very emotional, and I was programmed to think from a victimized mentality," Yeezy shared. "Of a welfare mentality."

In another interesting bit from his Trump meeting, Yeezy explained his wish for imprisoned Gangsters Disciples co-founder Larry Hoover to be pardoned for his crimes and freed from the Colorado prison he currently sits in. He's currently serving six life sentences.

Speaking on the matter, 'Ye explained that Hoover was only put behind bars because of his ability to do good.

“Really, the reason why they imprisoned [Hoover] is because he started doing positive for the community," 'Ye explained. "He started showing that he actually had power, he wasn’t just one of a monolithic voice, that he could wrap people around."

6

Kanye Wants Liberals to Make President Trump Look Good

Kanye isn't all that cool with Trump-bashing, because he thinks that makes the U.S. as a whole look bad. He addressed this idea during his meeting with the Trump today.

"What I need Saturday Night Live to improve on, or what I need the liberals to improve on, is if he don't look good, we don't look good," 'Ye explained. "This is our president. He has to be the freshest, the flyest, the flyest planes, the best factories, and we have to make our core be empowered, we have to bring jobs."

7

Kanye Wants Trump to Do Away With Stop and Frisk in Chicago

In 2013, a federal judge ruled that the New York Police Department's Stop and Frisk policy—one that enabled officers to search any and everyone they deemed suspicious at any time—was unconstitutional. Despite this, the policy is alive and well in Kanye's native Chicago. Speaking with Trump on the matter, 'Ye urged the policy to be removed.

“We feel that stop and frisk does not help with the relationship in the city and everyone knew I was coming here said, ‘Ask about stop and frisk,” 'Ye explained.

Responding to Kanye's point about the controversial policy, President Trump said he was “totally open” to any of Kanye's ideas about how to address Chicago's gun violence problem.

8

Kanye Says He's Got a Really High IQ

Kanye West has, for most of his career, been deemed a musical genius. According to him, those smarts extend far beyond the musical realm as well.

While explaining that he was misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder, Kanye revealed that a doctor gave him an IQ test. Apparently Yeezy tested off the charts.

“I was connected with a neuropsychologist that works with the athletes in the NBA and the NFL," Kanye reveals. "He looked at my brain. It’s equal on three parts. I’m gonna go ahead and drop some bombs for you: 98th percentile IQ test. I had a 75 percentile of all human beings when it was counting numbers backwards, so I’m gonna work on that one."

9

'Ye Wants Trump to Abandon Air Force One Plane for Hydrogen Aircraft

Yeezy wants President Trump to do everything in a stylish manner. That includes ditching the Air Force One for the iPlane 1.

In a moment that's sure to become a meme—if it hasn't at press time—'Ye pulled out his iPhone, which he unlocked by entering in a password comprised of six zeroes, and showed Trump a GIF of a hydrogen-fueled plane. He wants Apple to build it.

10

Yeezy Wants Trump to Bring More Manufacturing Jobs to Chicago

While speaking on prison reform, Kanye told Trump that he wants the president to bring more manufacturing jobs to the Chi. He seemingly thinks this will help lower the crime rate.

“We’re putting people in positions to have to do illegal things to end up in the cheapest factory ever – the prison system,” Kanye said, echoing an idea he posited when he spoke on abolishing the 13th amendment a few weeks ago.

“And Chicago is the core of middle American and we have to make middle America strong,” West said at another point of the discussion. "In my hometown of Chicago, and the 2.7 million to the 9 million [people] in surrounding suburbs, where we can create some factories, and I think it would be cool for them to have Trump factories because he's a master of industry and he's a builder."